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Impact of interfacial solubility on penetration of metals into dielectrics and the mechanism of failure

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Abstract

Copper solubility in low-k dielectrics has been shown to be a major factor in decreasing the useful lifetime of an interconnect. A number of groups have shown experimentally that increased surface oxygen concentration, increased moisture content in the dielectric, and an increase in interfacial copper concentration from chemical–mechanical polishing all contribute to accelerated failure. Here, we assumed that all these processes led to an increase in the solubility of metal at the SiO2/metal. We systematically varied the value of the interfacial solubility, Ce over a wide range and showed that the solubility strongly affects the distribution of copper and the local electric field within the dielectric. This changes the mechanism by which failure occurs from one where copper must penetrate all the way through the dielectric to one where copper penetration is limited to a thin layer near the surface. The solubility levels required to alter the failure mechanism, 1026–1027 atoms/m3, are within the realm of possibility and have been reported in the context of fabricating Cu-SiO2 resistive switching elements for memory applications.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the Semiconductor Research Corporation and NYSTAR for funding this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Joel. L. Plawsky & William N. Gill

  2. IBM Systems &Technology Group, Hopewell, NY, 12524, USA

    Ravi S. Achanta

Authors
  1. Joel. L. Plawsky
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  2. William N. Gill
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  3. Ravi S. Achanta
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Correspondence to Joel. L. Plawsky.

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Plawsky, J.L., Gill, W.N. & Achanta, R.S. Impact of interfacial solubility on penetration of metals into dielectrics and the mechanism of failure. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 23, 48–55 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-011-0406-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-011-0406-x

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